Date
12-11-2024
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Bible Exposition (PhD)
Chair
Robert Talley
Keywords
Paul, Galatians, Pneumatology, Typology, Mystery, the Covenants, Progressive Covenantalism, Abrahamic Blessing, the Spirit
Disciplines
Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Recommended Citation
Williams, Eric L., "The Blessing and the Promise: Paul's Covenantal Framework as the Foundation for Galatians 3:14" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 6294.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/6294
Abstract
This dissertation examines the relationship between the blessing of Abraham and the promise of the Spirit in Galatians 3:14. When Paul wrote these words to the Galatians, he did not intend to communicate two distinct, bifurcated concepts. Rather, he uses the two ἵνα clauses to bring depth of understanding to a singular idea. Paul spoke of the blessing of Abraham and the promise of the Spirit in a homogeneous manner, describing one main concept from two distinct angles, much like one would describe two sides of the same coin. It is argued that Paul was able to make such connections because of the way he understood the interconnectedness and progression of the biblical covenants.
Scholarship on the relationship between these two clauses is found to be lacking, and apart from a couple of works that represent opposing viewpoints from the present work, the research that does exist lacks extensive biblical treatment. Furthermore, the blessing and the promise have yet to be placed in their proper redemptive-historical setting. If these ideas can be understood within the storyline of Scripture, the proposed connection between the two becomes evident.
Given that the Spirit was never explicitly promised to Abraham, some see this as a later development primarily emerging in the latter prophets. However, it is the contention of this work that the promise of the Spirit was embedded in the blessing of Abraham. Therefore, hermeneutical issues abound as this topic is discussed. Concepts such as typology, cognitive peripheral vision of the biblical authors, μυστήριον, and the progression of the biblical covenants serve as interpretative underpinnings of this study.
